“I can’t imagine James uprooting his family” – Jeff Van Gundy brushes off LeBron James & Kyrie Irving reunion on Mavericks
Since the LA Lakers were eliminated from the postseason, LeBron James has been in the news for multiple reasons. He sparked great debate when he made comments about possibly retiring from the NBA after being swept by the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals.
Now, LeBron James is in the headlines following the latest piece of NBA drama. Earlier this week, Shams Charania of The Atheltic reported that Kyrie Irving reached out to James about joining the Dallas Mavericks.
Sources: Kyrie Irving has reached out to Lakers star LeBron James in attempts to see if James would come to Dallas. Irving is a free agent this offseason.
It is no secret that LeBron and Irving are open to the idea of playing together again. Leading up to the trade deadline, there were rumors that LeBron wanted the LA Lakers to push for the All-Star guard when he requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. However, it was the Dallas Mavericks who ended up swooping in and acquiring him to pair alongside Luka Doncic.
During a recent appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show," NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy was asked about the possibility of LeBron making the move to the Mavericks. The former coach does not see it as a real possibility for the 19-time All-Star.
"I can't imagine that because the fit between Doncic, Irving, and James doesn't seem to be like a complementary, seamless type of fit.
"I can't imagine James uprooting his family at this point. Doesn't make sense to me."
Does LeBron James to the Dallas Mavericks make sense?
Looking at it from both sides, the idea of LeBron James somehow making his way to the Dallas Mavericks doesn't make sense. Fresh off making it to the conference finals, the LA Lakers aren't going to be in a rush to move on from one of their stars.
As Jeff Van Gundy mentioned, the fit between LeBron, Kyrie Irving, and Luka Doncic doesn't make sense either. Both LeBron and Luka are ball-dominant stars that aren't much threat without it. Pairing them together would just lead to a lot of standing around and the two of them taking turns with the ball.
Another reason why LeBron likely wouldn't desire a move like this is that he'd have better chances to compete elsewhere. This trio could be a dominant force, but they'd be left with nothing around them. Dallas had minimal depth following the Irving trade. Completing another star trade would leave them entirely depleted.
Irving might be trying to reunite with his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate, but it seems like more of a dream than a reality at this point.